Ilima Loomis

Hawaii

Freelance Content Marketing Writer and Journalist at Freelance

Writer! Author of 'OHANA MEANS FAMILY and ECLIPSE CHASER. she/her

Articles

Volcanoes and how they erupt

Nov 14, 2024 | snexplores.org | Carolyn Wilke |Bethany Brookshire |Carolyn Gramling |Ilima Loomis

Some 640,000 years ago, a massive eruption rocked the land that, today, is Yellowstone National Park. The eruption spewed ash across much of the area that’s now the United States. It ejected 6,000 times the volume of the deadly 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption in Washington. And it created a crater that is 45 kilometers wide (28 miles) and 85 kilometers (53 miles) long. Free educator resources are available for this article.
Wild medicine! An orangutan treated his wound with a local plant

Jul 18, 2024 | snexplores.org | Darren Incorvaia |Susan Milius |Ilima Loomis |Sharon Oosthoek

For the first time, an orangutan has been seen doctoring a wound. Scientists describe it as the first evidence of a wild animal caring for a wound using a natural substance that’s known to aid healing. Researchers shared their discovery May 2 in Scientific Reports. The team had been studying great apes in Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser National Park. Some 150 orangs live in its Suaq Balimbing research area. Scientists have been studying these animals since 1994.
How Can I Manage Chronic Pain with MS? A Q&A with Dr. Kratz

Jul 7, 2024 | care.twill.health | Ilima Loomis

By Ilima Loomis July 08, 2024 This article is part of a Q&A series in which a healthcare professional in our community answers your frequently asked questions. Many people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience chronic pain, particularly a type known as neuropathic pain, which occurs with malfunction of or damage to the nervous system.
7 Great Eclipse Books to Inspire, Delight, and Prepare You for April 8

Mar 11, 2024 | atlasobscura.com | Ilima Loomis |Kate Fox |Khoa Le |Rebecca Boyle

On April 8, when the skies darken across a ribbon of North America and our Moon swallows our day star during a total solar eclipse, look up. Definitely look up. (Wearing appropriate safety glasses, of course.) But until then, feel free to bury your nose in these brilliant reads about our closest celestial companion, that lump of rock in the sky that influences our world and inspires our art. And if you run out of time before the big day to finish all of these wonder-filled books, have no fear.
How having a good relationship with your doctor can benefit your long-term health

Dec 20, 2023 | uchicagomedicine.org | Ilima Loomis

Along with staying physically active and eating a healthy diet, there’s something else you can do to take care of your health: establish a strong, long-term relationship with your primary care physician. Having a doctor who knows you can make a big difference in the quality of your care, said UChicago Medicine Medical Group family medicine physician Paulo Aranas, MD*.
The Center for Surgical Health puts surgical care within reach

Dec 7, 2023 | pennmedicine.org | Ilima Loomis

By Ilima LoomisCarrie Morales, MD, was a second-year medical student at the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) when she and then-general surgery resident Matthew Goldshore, MD,PhD, MPH, noticed a serious disparity in patients’ ability to access surgical care. Patients without insurance, for example, had limited ability to see surgeons for treatable problems until their condition became urgent or life-threatening.
UChicago Medicine doctors diagnose Indiana woman's rare autoimmune disease, reverse a rapid decline in her health

Nov 8, 2023 | uchicagomedicine.org | Ilima Loomis

For months, Carla Hawkins felt her health slowly decline. Fatigue and weakness made daily tasks more and more difficult. The Indiana woman, 59, was unable to keep up with her fast-paced career in customer service. As time passed, she lost the ability to lift her arms over her shoulders or even open a bottle of water. Swallowing food became hard, and she quickly began to lose weight. Finally, in May 2017, she could no longer deny the truth. Something was very wrong.
Skipping stone physics could aid net-tangled whales and more

Oct 18, 2023 | snexplores.org | Allison Gasparini |Ilima Loomis

aluminum: A metallic element, the third most abundant in Earth’s crust. It is light and soft, and used in many items from bicycles to spacecraft. angle: The space (usually measured in degrees) between two intersecting lines or surfaces at or close to the point where they meet. angler: A term for someone who fishes for food, usually for personal consumption, not on an industrial scale. application: A particular use or function of something.
Four researchers on Earth are spending a year on ‘Mars’

Oct 3, 2023 | snexplores.org | Payal Dhar |Ilima Loomis

3-D printing: A means of producing physical items — including toys, foods and even body parts — using a machine that takes instructions from a computer program. That program tells the machine how and where to lay down successive layers of some raw material (the “ink”) to create a three-dimensional object. air pressure: The force exerted by the weight of air molecules. analog: Something that resembles, stands in for, or is similar to another thing.
Crops are being engineered to thrive in our changing climate

Sep 21, 2023 | snexplores.org | Kathryn Hulick |Ilima Loomis |Freda Kreier

algae: Single-celled organisms, once considered plants (they aren’t). As aquatic organisms, they grow in water. Like green plants, they depend on sunlight to make their food. Arabidopsis thaliana: A weedy mustard plant frequently used to study the growth and behavior of plants. It is so commonly used by plant scientists that it has come to be called the “lab rat” of green-plant studies. bacteria: (singular: bacterium) Single-celled organisms.